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PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — The Mason County Board of Commissioners will review a proposed $18.427 million 2027 General Fund budget during a special meeting Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the conference room of the Mason County Airport terminal. The budget discussion is scheduled as a work session, according to the meeting agenda.
The proposed budget calls for $18.427 million in General Fund expenditures and an equal amount in revenue. That represents an increase of $697,000, or about 3.9%, from the county’s $17.73 million amended 2026 General Fund budget.
County departments initially requested a combined $18.653 million for 2027, which would have resulted in expenditures exceeding projected revenue by $225,912. The final proposed expenditure budget reduces those requests to $18.427 million, resulting in a balanced budget. The county projects its General Fund balance will remain at about $14.52 million at the end of 2027.
Property tax collections are expected to remain the county’s largest General Fund revenue source. The budget projects $13.927 million in property tax revenue for 2027, compared with $13.387 million in the 2026 amended budget, an increase of about $540,000.
Public safety accounts for several of the larger expenditures in the proposed budget.
The county’s General Fund appropriation to the road patrol fund would increase from $2.677 million in the 2026 amended budget to $2.915 million in 2027, an increase of $238,400, or about 8.9%.
The General Fund contribution to jail operations would increase from $2.184 million to $2.222 million, an increase of about $38,600. The county would also appropriate $158,000 for indigent defense and $742,800 for Friend of the Court operations.
The Mason County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is proposed to receive $1.126 million in 2027, compared with an amended 2026 budget of $1.053 million. Circuit Court expenditures are proposed at $745,475, District Court at $877,425 and Probate Court at $881,925.
The county’s equipment replacement plan also includes several recurring expenditures for the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, including $120,000 for vehicles, $15,500 for computers and equipment, $10,000 toward a marine boat, $9,075 for firearms, $8,350 for road patrol body cameras and $3,000 each for ballistic vests and Tasers.
Overall, the proposed 2027 equipment replacement budget totals $355,150. The public improvement fund includes another $451,956 in planned expenditures, including $100,000 for courthouse buildings and grounds, $90,000 for the jail, $59,456 for the Health Department building and $50,000 for the court building at the jail site.
The Board of Commissioners is Mason County’s governing and primary policy-making body. The county administrator is responsible for preparing a proposed budget for consideration by the county’s Finance Committee and assisting in development and monitoring of the county budget.
The board’s Tuesday agenda also includes a presentation on the Mason County Community Opioid Survey and consideration of an $83,836 carpet replacement project at the Health Department and Department of Health and Human Services buildings.
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